Electrical and electronic components tend to generate heat during operation. Oftentimes, the generated heat negatively affects the performance of the components, and may shorten the lifespan of the components as well. Accordingly, whether a component is enclosed in a package or mounted directly to a circuit board, it is desirable to conduct the generated heat away from the component as efficiently as possible. For example, some surfaces of the component or package may be metallic to improve thermal conductivity.
In some cases, insulating materials (such as a molding compound, for example) may be applied to a mating surface of a component or package to avoid shorting the component to a mounting surface, a heat sink, or the like. A particular thickness of the insulating material may be used to achieve a desired blocking or isolation voltage between the component and the mounting surface. In general, a greater isolation voltage is achieved by increasing the thickness of the insulating material.
However, the addition of the insulating material to the component or package often reduces the thermal performance of the component or package. The insulating material may have poor thermal conductive properties, for example. Additionally, an increase in the thickness of the insulating material can further reduce the capability of the component or package to dissipate generated heat. In other words, the thermal performance tends to be dependent on the electrical isolation voltage desired.